Recently, students and lecturers from Singapore Polytechnic and DTU enjoyed learning about traditional craft making in the three rural villages. They spent three days there; investigating ways of helping the villagers deal with the difficulties they are facing and improving their productivity. On October 15th, when they returned to Danang, the students held a “Gallery of Learning Express Projects” in the DTU library to demonstrate their accomplishments during the trip.
SP and DTU students present their Learning Express project
Students from Singapore Polytechnic, accompanied by DTU lecturers and students worked with the villagers at the Phuoc Kieu bronze casting village, a bamboo weaving village and a rice-cake village in Dien Ban district to learn about traditional crafts and research ways to improve productivity.
Posing for a photo
At the Gallery, students presented several innovative ideas and models which could help villagers increase their productivity, with three criteria, convenience, safety and eco-friendly. These included a Multi-functional Turning Table for bronze casting, a Dry Line for rice-cakes and a Mould and Robot Cleaner for the bamboo weaving villagers.
Ahmod Imran Bin Azhari, a student from the SP School of Communications, Arts and Social Sciences, said: “I learnt a lot of new things through Learning Express, especially problem-solving skills. At the same time, I gained experience in traditional craftwork. During the program, I had the opportunity to make many new Vietnamese friends at DTU. If I have the chance, I definitely come back to Danang to meet them and visit other traditional craft villages to research ways to help the locals improve their productivity.”
One of the three SP lecturers participating in Learning Express, Ms Koh Sook Ina, of the SP School of Chemical and Life Sciences, said: “This is the first time I have participated in Learning Express and I think it’s a great opportunity for students of Finance, Business, Hospitality, Chemistry and Engineering. The DTU students left a strong impression on me. They are fun-loving, energetic, helpful and hard-working. In the villages especially, they helped us translate, because the SP students don’t speak Vietnamese. The DTU students worked until late at night and woke up early the in the mornings. The trip was unforgettable.”
(Media Center)